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About The Trevor Project

Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award®-winning short film TREVOR, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13–24.

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As a 501(c)3 non-profit, The Trevor Project relies on the generosity of friends to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth have a safe place to turn in times of crisis.

GET HELP

Education

The Lifeguard Workshop is a free online learning module with a video, curriculum, and teacher resources for middle school and high school classrooms.

The Trevor Project’s Trainings for Professionals include in-person Ally and CARE trainings designed for adults who work with youth. These trainings help counselors, educators, administrators, school nurses, and social workers discuss LGBTQ-competent suicide prevention.

About The Trevor Project

Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award®-winning short film TREVOR, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13–24.

Blogs & Events

Donate

As a 501(c)3 non-profit, The Trevor Project relies on the generosity of friends to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth have a safe place to turn in times of crisis.

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Health Law Program, the National Partnership for Women & Families, and the undersigned 163 organizations, we urge you to oppose any attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA); slash federal funding and transform Medicaid into a block grant or per capita cap; eliminate the Medicaid expansion; and defund Planned Parenthood health centers.

Repealing the ACA, and restructuring and reducing the financing and coverage of Medicaid as proposed by the American Health Care Act (AHCA), would leave at least 23 million people in the United States, particularly people of color and underserved populations, significantly worse off than under current law. The ACA and Medicaid are critical sources of health coverage for America’s traditionally underserved communities, which our organizations represent. This includes individuals and families living in poverty, people of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, individuals with disabilities, seniors, and individuals with limited English proficiency.

The ACA has reduced the number of people without insurance to historic lows, including a reduction of 39 percent of the lowest income individuals.i The gains are particularly noteworthy for Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have seen the largest gains in coverage. The nation and our communities cannot afford to go back to a time when they did not have access to comprehensive, affordable coverage. Further, due to the intersectionality between factors, such as race and disability, or sexual orientation and uninsurance, and issues faced by women of color, many individuals may face additional discrimination and barriers to obtaining coverage. Proposals to replace the ACA with high-risk pools, Health Savings Accounts, or “cheaper” insurance plans that do not offer comprehensive, affordable benefits are unacceptable.

Medicaid is also critically important as it insures one of every five individuals in the United States, including one of every three children and 10 million people with disabilities.
Medicaid coverage, including the Medicaid expansion, is particularly critical for underserved individuals and especially people of color, because they are more likely to be living with certain chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, which require ongoing screening and services. People of color represent 58 percent of non-elderly Medicaid enrollees.ii According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, African Americans comprise 22 percent of Medicaid enrollment, and Hispanics comprise 25 percent.iii They are more likely than White non- Hispanics to lack insurance coverage and are more likely to live in families with low incomes and fall in the Medicaid gap.iv As a result, the lack of expansion disproportionately affects these communities, as well as women, who make up the majority of poor uninsured
gains in health coverage, this could mean vastly reduced access to needed health care, increased medical debt, and persistent racial disparities in mortality rates.v Further, Medicaid provides home and
community-based services enabling people with disabilities to live, work, attend school, and participate in their communities. The proposed cuts would decimate the very services that are cost-effective and keep individuals out of nursing homes and institutions. Finally, one in five people with Medicare rely on Medicaid to cover vital long-term home care and nursing home services, to help afford their Medicare premiums and cost-sharing, and more.

Despite the common myth that all low-income people could enroll in Medicaid, the Medicaid program has only been available to certain categories of individuals (e.g., children, pregnant women, seniors, people with disabilities) and had little to no savings or assets. Parents of children and childless adults were often excluded from Medicaid or only the lowest income individuals in these categories were eligible. For example, the Medicaid expansion greatly expanded coverage for LGBTQ individuals who previously did not fit into a traditional Medicaid eligibility category and for working people struggling in jobs that do not offer health insurance and pay at or near the minimum wage.

The CBO estimated that under the AHCA, as initially proposed, 14 million people would lose their Medicaid coverage by 2026, a reduction of about 17 percent relative to the comparable number under current law.vi The AHCA would end the higher federal matching rate for people newly enrolled through the Medicaid expansion and transform the financing from an entitlement program based on the number of persons enrolled to a more limited per capita-based cap or block grant. CBO estimates that by 2026, Medicaid spending would be reduced by $834 billion or 25 percent less than estimated under current law.vii This dramatic reduction in funding to the states is likely to result in more people losing coverage and/or needed services, particularly those optional services needed by people with disabilities.

Further, we are very concerned about the possibility of giving states an option under the Medicaid program to impose a work requirement as a condition of eligibility for the first time. Such a requirement not only fails to further the purpose of providing health care but also undermines this objective. Among adults with Medicaid coverage, nearly 8 in 10 live in working families and a majority are working themselves.viii

In addition, the AHCA would single out Planned Parenthood and block federal Medicaid funds for care at its health centers. The “defunding” of Planned Parenthood would prevent more than half of its patients from getting affordable preventive care, including birth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and well-women exams at Planned Parenthood health centers, often the only care option in their area. This loss of funds will have a disproportionate effect on poor families and people of color who make up 40 percent of Planned Parenthood patients.ix Seventy-five percent of Planned Parenthood patients are at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level and half of their health centers are in rural or underserved areas.x

We are seriously concerned about the lack of transparency of the discussions taking place to develop this legislation. After more than seven years and 60 votes to repeal the ACA, there is no excuse for forcing consideration of this bill without adequate time for analysis, hearings, and discussion of a CBO score, providing ample opportunity for the public to understand the proposed legislation and participate in this discussion in which their very access to health care for themselves and their families is at stake.
funding guarantee into a block grant or per capita caps, and any attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Leadership Conference Health Care Task Force Co- chairs Judith Lichtman at the National Partnership for Women & Families ([email protected]), Mara Youdelman at the National Health Law Program ([email protected]), or June Zeitlin at The Leadership Conference ([email protected]).

Sincerely,

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights National Health Law Program (NHeLP)
National Partnership for Women & Families ACCESS
Access Living
ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+) Advocates for Youth
AFL-CIO AFSCME
AIDS Foundation of Chicago American Academy of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of Teachers American Nurses Association
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Amida Care
Amnesty International USA APLA Health
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian & Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health (APIC)
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals Association of University Centers on Disabilities Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Black Women’s Roundtable, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation Breast Cancer Action
Cascade AIDS Project
Center for Community Change Action Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) Center for Medicare Advocacy
Center for Reproductive Rights
Coalition for Disability Health Equity Coalition of Labor Union Women
Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) Commission on the Public’s Health System
CommonHealth ACTION
Community Access National Network (CANN) Crescent City Media Group
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Drug Policy Alliance
EMILY’s List
Equal Justice Society Equal Rights Advocates Equality California Equality Federation Families USA
Family Equality Council Family Voices Farmworker Justice Feminist Majority
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
Health Care for America Now (HCAN) Health Justice Project
Hispanic Health Network HIV Medicine Association Human Rights Campaign Human Rights Watch
Illinois Public Health Association Indivisible
International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies International Association of Women in Radio and Television, USA Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Women International Justice in Aging
Korean Community Services of Metropolitan NY Lambda Legal
Latino Commission on AIDS Latinos in the Deep South
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
LBGT PA Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc. League of United Latin American Citizens
League of Women Voters of the United States
LEAnet, a national coalition of local education agencies LPAC
Main Street Alliance Medicare Rights Center
Movement Advancement Project
NAACP NAPAFASA NASTAD
National African American Drug Policy Coalition Inc.
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors & National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Association of Human Rights Workers National Association of Social Workers National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Learning Disabilities National Center for Lesbian Rights National Center for Transgender Equality National Collaborative for Health Equity
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) National Council of Churches
National Council of Jewish Women National Council of La Raza
National Council on Independent Living National Disability Rights Network National Domestic Workers Alliance National Education Association National Employment Law Project
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association National Hispanic Medical Association
National Immigration Law Center National Institute for Reproductive Health
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) National Organization for Women
National Urban League
National Women’s Health Network National Women’s Law Center National Women’s Political Caucus
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
NOBCO: National Organization of Black County Officials OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
OneAmerica
Organizing for Action-Springfield Out2Enroll
People For the American Way Philadelphia Unemployment Project Planned Parenthood Federation of America PolicyLink
Population Institute
Positive Women’s Network – USA
Prevention Institute Prism Health
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Project Inform
Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need Resource Center
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) SisterSong: National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective SiX Action
TASH
The AIDS Institute
The Arc of the United States
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy The Trevor Project
The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society Trust for America’s Health
UCHAPS: Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services Union for Reform Judaism
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity Venas Abiertas
Voices for Progress
Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health Women Employed
Women’s Action Movement
Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN) Women’s Media Center
Women’s Missionary Society African Methodist Episcopal Church Young Invincibles
YWCA USA

i U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Affordable Care Act Has Led to Historic, Widespread Increase in Health Insurance Coverage, pp. 2, 4 (Sept. 29, 2016), available at https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/207946/ACAHistoricIncreaseCoverage.pdf.
ii Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicaid Coverage Rates for the Nonelderly by Race/Ethnicity: 2015, available at http://kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/rate-by-raceethnicity-3/?currentTimeframe=0.
iii Kaiser Health Foundation, Medicaid Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity, available at http://kff.org/medicaid/state- indicator/medicaid-enrollment-by-raceethnicity/.
iv Kaiser Family Foundation, The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand
Medicaid, http://kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/the-coverage-gap-uninsured-poor-adults-in-states-that-do-not-expand-medicaid/ v Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, African Americans Have Much to Lose Under House GOP Health Plan, available at http://www.cbpp.org/blog/african-americans-have-much-to-lose-under-house-gop-health-plan.
vi Congressional Budget Office Estimate, American Health Care Act (March 13, 2017) available at https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/americanhealthcareact_0.pdf. vii Congressional Budget Office Estimate, American Health Care Act (May 24, 2017) available at https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/hr1628aspassed.pdf.
viii Kaiser Family Foundation, Understanding the Intersection of Medicaid and Work, available at http://files.kff.org/attachment/Issue-Brief-Understanding-the-Intersection-of-Medicaid-and-Work
ix Planned Parenthood, This is Who We Are, (July 11, 2016), available at https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/6814/6833/9709/20160711_FS_General_d1.pdf
x Planned Parenthood, The Urgent Need for Planned Parenthood Health Centers (Dec. 7, 2016), available at https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/4314/8183/5009/20161207_Defunding_fs_d01_1.pdf

NEW YORK CITY (June 20, 2017) – Last night The Trevor Project hosted its 2017 TrevorLIVE New York gala at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds was honored with The Trevor Project’s Hero Award, LGBTQ advocate and equality trailblazer Edie Windsor received the Icon Award, and Deloitte was honored with the 20/20 award. The star-studded event was led by Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, and featured special performances by Grammy Award-winning rock band Imagine Dragons and Broadway stars Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan.

During the event, Imagine Dragons, who played stripped down versions of their hits including “Radioactive” and new singles “Believer” and “Whatever It Takes”, announced a new music festival called “Love Loud” that will take place August 26 in Provo, Utah to support LGBTQ charities including The Trevor Project.

Additional highlights from the event included:

Broadway star Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan opened the show in true Broadway fashion with a choreographed original musical number “I Wish I Were Gay”.

Host John Oliver led the evening by praising the LGBTQ community for standing up for each other saying, “What inspires me most about pride, is although the civil rights of the LGBTQ community are so consistently under siege, its members remain accepting, inclusive, and open-hearted. The Trevor Project represents the spirit of showing up for each other. It stands for love and trust and hope and support and honesty and belonging.”

James Lecesne presented the Icon Award to LGBTQ activist Edie Windsor who took a stance for marriage equality during her acceptance speech. “There is talk in our current administration to end same-sex marriage, but there is no same-sex marriage in this country, there is no gay marriage in this country. There is only marriage,” stated Windsor. “So, if they want to get rid of same-sex marriage, they have to go to a different country that has it. I repeat it and ask you all to follow suit. There is only marriage in this country.”

Neon Trees lead singer Tyler Glenn presented the Hero Award to Imagine Dragons lead singer and good friend Dan Reynolds, who gave a heartfelt acceptance speech giving insight into his upbringing and his internal fight with his Mormon religion. “I always had a hard time with faith,” said Reynolds. “As I got older it came time for Mormons to go on a mission. I decided for those two years I was going to 100% put my heart into it. I knocked on thousands of doors. For those 2 years when people asked me what the doctrine was and they said, ‘Hey I’m gay,” I thought that it was a sin because that’s what I had been raised to teach. I hold regret about that until this day. I wish I could re-knock on those doors and tell them I was wrong. I can’t do that. All I can do is come forward to you today and say I’m sincerely sorry.” Reynolds continued to talk about falling in love and finding truth. “I met this girl and I fell in love with her. When I met her, she was living with her two best friends who were lesbians. My wife was my missionary. She taught me what I already knew in my heart, which was that to be gay is beautiful.”

About The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is the leading national organization focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, educational materials, online resources, and advocacy. For more information, visit www.TheTrevorProject.org.

TrevorLIVE at The Marriott Marquis is the signature annual event of The Trevor Project. As always, this June event brings together top entertainers and corporate leaders to support the organization’s life-saving initiatives, including its free and confidential lifeline, suicide prevention workshops, community outreach, advocacy efforts and educational resources. More at trevorlive.org.

The Honorable Chairwoman Darlene Mealy
Committee on Civil Rights
New York City Council

The Trevor Project writes in strong support of amendment T2017-6329, which would ban so-called “conversion therapy” in New York City. If passed, New York City would join the ranks of nine other states, including California and New Jersey, and nearly twenty cities that have demonstrated their commitment to the well-being of LGBTQ youth by passing similar laws. Conversion therapy is a dangerous and discredited practice which aims at changing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This “therapy” is done through methods which often include emotional, psychological and even physical abuse.[1] As the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, we know this bill is critical to creating supportive mental health care for LGBTQ people in New York City and saving many young people from the trauma of conversion therapy.

The Trevor Project works to save young lives through our accredited free and confidential lifeline; our secure instant messaging services which provide live help and intervention; our social networking community for LGBTQ youth; and our in-school workshops, educational materials, online resources, and advocacy. From August 1, 2016 to June 13, 2017, The Trevor Project has had almost 4,500 crisis contacts in New York State. While we are unable to track contacts by city, we know that hundreds of New York City LGBTQ youth struggling with suicidal thoughts are reaching out to us every year.

Banning conversion therapy can be a matter of life or death for many young people. Research shows that LGB youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth and LGB youth are almost five times as likely to have actually attempted suicide.[ii] In a national study, 40% of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt at some point in their lives. 92% of these individuals reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25.[iii] Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth in New York ages 15-24,[iv] with a suicide rate of 6.7 deaths for every 100,000 young people.[v] Studies show that for every one person who dies by suicide, there are 25 attempts.[vi]

Perhaps most importantly, youth placed in conversion therapy are at an even greater risk. For example, LGBTQ youth from highly rejecting families are more than eight times as likely to attempt suicide compared to those from accepting families.[vii] Families that are extremely rejecting of their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity are among those most likely to send their child to conversion therapy. Evidence also shows conversion therapy poses serious health risks including depression, shame, decreased self-esteem, social withdrawal, substance abuse, risky behavior and suicidal ideation.[viii] Passing this ordinance will help ensure no more young people suffer from the harms of conversion therapy or lose their life to this abuse.

Additionally, there is no scientific evidence to show conversion therapy is effective in its goal of changing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.[ix] The nation’s leading mental health associations including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy have all issued statements condemning the practice.[x] As the nation’s only accredited, 24/7 lifeline specifically for LGBTQ youth, we hear from conversion therapy survivors and bear witness to the devastating impacts of this practice. No young person should have to endure the damage done by supposed members of helping professionals or religious institutions.

By supporting this proposed law, you can be a part of ending this abuse and ensuring that LGBTQ youth in New York City can truly have a bright future.
Learn about Trevor Project advocacy programs here.

(Washington, June 13, 2017) – Today U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney reintroduced a bill to Provide a Requirement to Improve Date Collection Efforts, also known as the LGBT PRIDE Act, which will improve our understanding of the relationship between LGBTQ individuals and suicide.

The bill directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to enhance the collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data for deceased individuals, including those who died by suicide. Currently national surveillance endeavors including the National Violent Death Reporting System do not collect sexual orientation or gender identity information on decedents, leaving an enormous gap in our knowledge of the number of LGBTQ youth who die by suicide. The idea for the bill was conceived during a legislative briefing by The Trevor Project on LGBTQ youth suicide last year. Once Rep. Maloney learned of this inequality he quickly set out to draft the PRIDE Act to correct it.

From the office of Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus: “One year after the deadly shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), New York’s first openly gay member of Congress, announced the introduction of the bill to improve data collection on the sexual orientation and gender identity of victims of violent crimes. Rep. Maloney’s LGBT PRIDE (Provide a Requirement to Improve Date Collection Efforts) Act calls on CDC to improve the process, and authorizes $25 million to fund the effort.

Although the overwhelming majority of victims of the Pulse shooting were LGBTQ, the federal government’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) collects only a small amount of information on sexual orientation and gender identity. This means the lives lost in the Orlando attack were not recorded as anti-LGBT murders in any data collection.

Pulse wasn’t an isolated occurrence – anti-LGBTQ violence is way too common – it happens when a transwoman of color is gunned down in the street, it happens when a young gay person is bullied into depression or takes his own life. “We have to get more information on where this violence is happening and we have to be more aggressive about doing something to stop it – and this bill is a necessary first step.”

“No American should ever feel like they are treated less than equal. It’s on all of us to continue fighting until we make this a reality. The LGBT PRIDE Act will authorize $25 million to expand data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity through the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System. This data is critical for identifying the causes of violent crime, and developing new, strategic methods to stop it. I’m proud to join Congressman Maloney in introducing this important bill today,” said Rep. David Cicilline, Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.

“This legislation will play a critical role helping us to better understand and help end LGBTQ youth suicide,” said Trevor Project CEO Amit Paley. “Currently no one is able to answer the question of how many LGBTQ individuals die by suicide every year. This is a monumental gap in our knowledge of suicide and keeps us from most effectively targeting prevention and intervention efforts. The saying often goes ‘if you’re not counted then you don’t count’, and it’s time to finally acknowledge the importance of LGBTQ lives and get the data to help save those lives.”

The LGBT PRIDE Act would require the CDC to improve its data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity and authorize $25 million to fund the effort. The system currently has the ability to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity, but various barriers exist to comprehensive collection. The NVDRS aggregates data from a variety of local sources including death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, police reports, and crime labs. This data is used to inform policy and regulatory decisions aimed at responding to public health crises such as suicide and homicide at the local, federal, and state level. All data collection is performed on a voluntary basis, and the results are only released in aggregate to protect the privacy of decedents.

Amy Loudermilk, Trevor Project Director of Government Affairs said, “We know LGBTQ youth have disproportionately higher rates of suicide attempts, but what we don’t know is if that extends to disproportionate rates of death by suicide. In order to prevent suicide deaths and save young lives this data is of vital importance.”

Loudermilk spoke at this morning’s press conference with Representative Maloney at the United States Capitol. Below are her remarks:

“Good Morning. My name is Amy Loudermilk and I’m the director of government affairs at The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth. At The Trevor project, we are experts on the issue of LGBTQ youth suicide and have over 50,000 crisis contacts with youth every year. I routinely talk about the disproportionate risk LGBTQ young people have for suicide attempts. For example, LGB youth attempt suicide at four times the rate as straight youth, and a recent survey found that 40% of transgender adults reported attempting suicide, with 92% of those attempting before the age of 25. What I can’t tell you though, is how many LGBTQ youth die by suicide in each year. No one can answer that question because neither sexual orientation nor gender identity data is routinely collected when someone dies from a violent death. Rep. Maloney’s PRIDE Act will change that.

Did you know that since 2000 motor vehicle related fatalities have decreased 35-40%? A number of factors contributed to this, including: laws against texting or talking on the phone while driving; zero tolerance for drunk driving; child car seat laws and helmet laws. The impact public policy can make is truly impressive and in this case lifesaving. But right now it’s as if we’re in the dark ages of LGBTQ suicide prevention because we don’t even have a baseline number of deaths from which to assess the effectiveness of interventions or appropriately target resources.

This landmark piece of legislation signals a fundamental change in the way information about violent deaths, including suicide and homicide, are recorded and reported. It also communicates a key message to LGBTQ youth: their lives matter. We can only get better at saving lives if we have data about who is most at risk. The Trevor Project is incredibly grateful to Rep. Maloney and his staff for introducing this bill and helping to obtain the data necessary to move the field of suicide prevention into the light so we can continue to help shed light on this issue and provide support to LGBTQ youth in crisis.”

#LGBTQLivesCount

About the Trevor Project:
The Trevor Project is the leading and only accredited national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people under the age of 25. The Trevor Project offers a suite of crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest peer-to-peer social support network for LGBTQ young people under the age of 25, TrevorSpace. Trevor also offers an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, a legislative advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and conducts research to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide. If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal, our Trevor Lifeline crisis counselors are available 24/7/365 at 866.488.7386. www.TheTrevorProject.org

The undersigned 59 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ), American Muslim, and Latinx organizations released the following statement in advance of the first day of remembrance of the June 12, 2016 massacre at the LGBTQ nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida. The statement was convened by national civil rights organizations including Muslim Advocates, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC):

“One year ago, in the aftermath of the Orlando tragedy, we came together in grief, in unity, and in solidarity with the Orlando community and millions of people everywhere, to condemn this act of hate violence and affirm that love conquers hate. That senseless act struck at the heart of the LGBTQ and Latinx communities, families, and close friends, and at the core of one of our nation’s greatest strengths: our diversity. The ensuing backlash against the American Muslim community led to hate speech and violence, shootings, and mosque vandalism that claimed even more victims.
The acts of kindness that followed also illustrated that, even in our darkest moments, and despite the repeated attempts to use fear to further divide us, time and time again, the people of this country come together to console and support those in need.

As we remember those we lost and their families, we renew our commitment to honor them with action by protecting one another and our country’s ideals of freedom, liberty, and equality under the law for all people.
This day of remembrance comes during LGBTQ Pride Month and the holy month of Ramadan. As we reflect on the past year, we are deeply concerned about the direction of our country including efforts to divide Americans from one another by demonizing and scapegoating many of our communities–but we are also proud of the millions of Americans of all faiths, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and backgrounds who continue to rebuff those attempts by stepping up to defend our highest ideals.

We have been reminded countless times that a threat against any one community is a threat against all of us, and that we must take notice and action. As our communities resist a massive rollback of civil rights protections at the state and federal level and a rising tide of hate violence, we stand together ever stronger, ever braver, and ever more resolute to resist these attacks and move forward with love and acceptance for all.”

(WEST HOLLYWOOD, June 6, 2017) – The Board of Directors of The Trevor Project—the nation’s leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth—announced today that Amit Paley will become the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.

Paley, 35, is a leading expert on healthcare and non-profit management at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he is an Associate Partner serving numerous non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies and governments. He is also a leader of McKinsey’s LGBTQ group and spearheaded the firm’s global efforts on inclusion for transgender and gender non-conforming people.

A six-year counselor on the organization’s 24/7/365 Trevor Lifeline where he answered thousands of calls from youth in crisis, Paley is the first volunteer to become the CEO of the organization in its 19-year history. He has also served on Trevor’s Board of Directors, chairing the board’s Public Policy and Advocacy Committee and its Strategic Planning Committee, and leading the development of Trevor’s strategic plan as a pro bono consultant.

“Amit has the experience, insights, passion and vision this organization needs to navigate how we continue to lead the design and implementation of crisis intervention services,” said Michael Norton, chair of The Trevor Project’s Board of Directors. “He not only comes to us with a proven track-record working with leading non-profit and health care organizations, he has a deep understanding of our life-saving work from his many years of fielding calls on the Trevor Lifeline. With Amit, we’ve got a skilled, thoughtful and innovative steward of this organization.”

The Board selected Paley after an exhaustive, six-month national search conducted by Koya Leadership Partners, a leading non-profit executive search firm. He will succeed Abbe Land, who served as Executive Director and CEO for nearly five years and led an ambitious expansion of the number of LGBTQ youth that the organization helps each year. She also expanded Trevor’s chat and text services, as well as the organization’s advocacy work and education programming. Steve Mendelsohn, Trevor’s long-time Deputy Executive Director, has been successfully leading the organization as Interim Executive Director for the past several months and will continue at The Trevor Project as Deputy Executive Director.

Paley, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College with an MBA from Columbia Business School and Master’s from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, was a reporter at The Washington Post before joining McKinsey. He covered numerous beats, including as a foreign correspondent based in the paper’s Baghdad bureau, where his work was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; a financial investigative journalist; and the paper’s national education reporter. Paley also worked in the corporate strategy office of The Washington Post Company. Earlier in his journalism career, he uncovered the existence of an 80-year-old secret court at Harvard University that persecuted gay students, several of whom died by suicide.

“I am so honored and thrilled to join the incredible team of staff, volunteers, donors and supporters who make up The Trevor Project family and literally save lives every day,” said Paley, who will officially become CEO on June 19. “In today’s political environment, where rights and protections for LGBTQ young people are being rescinded and anti-LGBTQ legislation is moving forward, The Trevor Project is needed more than ever. Whenever gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning young people are in crisis, they know they are not alone because The Trevor Project is here to listen and help. We will always fight for LGBTQ young people, alleviate crisis, and help prevent LGBTQ youth suicide.”

Paley is involved with several non-profit organizations in addition to The Trevor Project. He is a former president of The Harvard Crimson, where he is now vice chair of its board of directors and oversees the organization’s financial aid program; a board member of the Center for Public Integrity, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning organization that published the Panama Papers; and was previously an adjunct professor of entrepreneurial journalism at City University of New York.

The Trevor Project is the leading and only accredited national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people under the age of 25. The Trevor Project offers a suite of crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest peer-to-peer social support network for LGBTQ young people under the age of 25, TrevorSpace. Trevor also offers an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, a legislative advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and conducts research to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide. If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal, our Trevor Lifeline crisis counselors are available 24/7/365 at 866.488.7386. www.TheTrevorProject.org

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.